The Grey Wardens in BioWare’s Dragon Age series are a complicated and morally grey (pun intended) group of warriors and specialists with one goal: push back the Darkspawn hordes and kill the Archdemon during a Blight. They’ve had a long, complicated history in Thedas, and have fallen in and out of favour throughout. In Dragon Age 4, it’s expected that things will only get messier for them.

With so much lore to sift through, there’s bound to be interesting details and historical notes that fall through the cracks. Not even the Grey Wardens can keep track of everything - so this is the ultimate cheat sheet of cool facts about the order.

10 Founded By Carinus

It’s never discussed how the Grey Wardens got started in the games, but the Dragon Age tabletop RPG goes into more detail on the topic. When the First Blight occurred, most people in Thedas didn’t see the link in rising illness levels in their communities to the arrival of the horrific Darkspawn creatures.

Carinus, on the other hand, was certain that the two events were linked. He gathered people from as far as the Tevinter Imperium and across the Anderfels to fight it. This group eventually became the Grey Wardens after renouncing all other allegiances. Whether or not Carinus was also a former Tevinter Magister remains a mystery.

9 Those Who Didn’t Survive The Joining

When the player goes through their Joining at the beginning of Dragon Age: Origins, Alistair gives them an amulet to remember the experience and the people they lost. However, he doesn’t mention that many of his colleagues kept lists of people who died in Joinings - not just their own Joining, but any Joining.

The people who died during the rite were still considered to have died as Wardens, and thus they were supposed to be respected as such. The lists of names were cherished by their owners, but this reasonably high mortality rate gets a bit glossed over in the lore.

8 They Used To Ride Griffons

In their prime, Grey Wardens rode griffons into battle. Griffons were wild creatures until certain groups from the Anderfels learned to tame them. When those folks began joining the Wardens, they taught their new brothers and sisters how to ride the beasts. Griffons chose their rider (not the other way around), so they were treated with caution and respect.

Unfortunately, during the Fourth Blight, the Wardens were so desperate to succeed that they tried to put their griffons through the Joining. This didn’t work and only tainted the beasts; the contagion spread throughout the population until they were believed to be extinct.

7 The Outbreak Of The Mage-Templar War

The culmination of Dragon Age: 2 shows the outbreak of the Mage-Templar War in Kirkwall. By the time of Dragon Age: Inquisition, the player has to decide which faction to support. It’s worth noting that, when the war broke out, Grey Wardens offered amnesty to any mages or Templars that wanted to escape the fighting. But this amnesty was not without its strings: they had to participate in the Joining and enter the order.

If a mage wanted to join but was being hunted by Templars, they invoked the Right of Conscription on the mage (an order which allows Wardens to forcefully take any recruit they want) which the Templars couldn’t disobey. This theme of mages being used for other group’s purposes is a strong motif throughout the games.

6 Dwarves > Everyone Else

Dragon Age’s dwarves are a sturdy bunch since they’ve been mining Lyrium (a magical stone) and fighting off Darkspawn for generations. As a result, the Grey Wardens consider them to be excellent recruits to the Order.

Despite being surfacer-dwellers, Grey Wardens have a better relationship with the Dwarves than any other organization. After all, no others have expressed concern for the Darkspawn hordes railing against Orzammar. The Legion of the Dead and the Grey Wardens often have joint operations in the Deep Roads.

5 Mabari Can Go Through The Joining

Mabari war hounds are a breed of incredibly smart dogs beloved in Ferelden. Their species was created magically by the Tevinter Imperium and mages brought the dogs to “subdue” the “barbarians” in Ferelden. However, it didn’t go as planned and the Mabari defected to the Ferelden tribes’ side.

In the novel Dragon Age: The Calling, it’s revealed that Mabari could go through the Joining and survive to become Grey Wardens – unlike the Griffons. It is assumed that their resistance to the taint is due to Tevinter’s magical meddling. The failure of the Griffons to complete the Joining properly is an indication that average animals simply cannot handle it.

4 No Qunari In The Ranks

No Qunari or Kossith has ever joined the Grey Wardens’ ranks. This is probably due to the fact that they live quite strictly on their island home of Seheron, and the only people to leave are sanctioned by their government. These people, like the Arishok, typically operate under specific orders.

The other kind of Qunari, the Tal’Vashoth, are people who have left the Qun and become independent. They usually use their skills to work as mercenaries as Iron Bull does covertly at first as a Ben-Hassrath. According to the Dragon Age RPG, rumours did arise of a few Tal-Vashoth participating in the Joining, but none survived - or, at least, they haven’t been spotted as members of the order.

3 One Mage From Every Circle

It’s traditional for the Grey Wardens to have one mage among their ranks from every Circle of Magi. The Wardens will even plan this with the Circle and recruit the mage directly after their Harrowing. Mages are powerful fighters and invaluable healers for combat, of course, but their magical abilities are also essential to performing the Joining ritual.

It’s not usually difficult to find a willing recruit in the Circle since mages have restricted roles there. Even if they were sent to serve a noble, they’d hardly be free. Joining the order, on the other hand, provides immense respect and importance even if their hands are still bound by a specific group.

2 They’re Also Morally Grey

It’s easy to assume that Grey Wardens are the “white knights” of Thedas. After all, they’re out there doing the dirty jobs that no one else has the courage to do. In Dragon Age: Origins, the player is literally called the “Hero of Ferelden” for taking down the Archdemon. In Dragon Age: Inquisition, when the Grey Wardens turn against the player, it’s meant to be a horrific moment where the Grey Wardens’ goals have been corrupted.

However, the order never claimed to be the heroes, the good guys, or the morally outstanding. In the Dragon Age RPG, it’s detailed that the Grey Wardens are aware that they’re fighting a war of attrition and losing. They have to use every tactic available to them – every resource, method, or magic – regardless of the failings of their morals or character. The right of conscription alone stands on morally dubious grounds, so it’s no surprise that other aspects of the order do, as well.

1 Even Merchants And Nobles

However, the Grey Wardens can be picky about their recruits sometimes. It would be easy to get the impression from Dragon Age: Origins that everyone who joins the Grey Wardens has just emerged from some disastrous situation, barely clinging on to their life. Even among the noble options, each and every background that the player can choose from is some variation on a hot mess.

However, under normal circumstances, many Grey Wardens were recruited from among the noble and merchant ranks - the kind of people that may never have fought before. Being picky about new order members didn’t mean just combat skills; merchants and nobles often have resources, skills, and contacts to help the order as much as a swordsman could. Though they’d probably be taught to defend themselves, as well, just in case.

NEXT: Dragon Age 4: 5 Fan Theories We Hope Come True (& 5 We Don’t)